Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Thursday’s Headlines: ‘Pedestrians Deserve to Die’ Edition

Does this pedestrian deserve to die? Photo: Daily News

Yep, it was your regular night at your regular pro-car Queens community meeting — regular in that Kim Ohanian, who sits on Community Board 7 thanks to Borough President Melinda Katz, lambasted Vision Zero as a "total joke" and said that "pedestrians deserve to get run over" and die in the most gruesome of fashions if they have the temerity to be talking on their cellphones while crossing a street.

The clip and full video of the May meeting was unearthed and posted by Twitter legend Diedrich vanVlissingen, the anonymous gadfly who has exposed the racial and transportation biases of Queens's most unrepresentative representative boards.

Will Katz call for Ohanian to resign? Will she fire her? We'll be asking those questions today.

In the meantime, here's the news from a slow, hot day:

    • MTA layoffs are coming (NYDN, WSJ, amNY), but they won't be enough (NY Post)
    • A motorcyclist is dead in Canarsie. (Bklyner)
    • Bklyner's Sam Raskin also took a similar second-day angle on Citi Bike as Streetsblog (though our headline was more aggressive).
    • Are you using the Reported app to hold cabbies and other drivers accountable? You must — all the cool kids are. (Reported via Twitter)
    • And, finally, the New Yorker thinks it's so droll. But this is our life you're turning into cheap cover art and gifs.
niemann_subway_story

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Oonee, The Bike Parking Company, Files Formal Protest After DOT Snub

Brooklyn bike parking start-up Oonee is calling foul play on the city's selection of another company for its secure bike parking program.

December 12, 2025

OPINION: I’m Sick Of Unsafe 31st Street And The Judge Who Killed Our Shot at Fixing It

An Astoria mom demands that the city appeal Judge Cheree Buggs's ruling ordering the removal of the 31st bike lane.

December 12, 2025

‘I’m Always on the Bus’: How Transit Advocacy Helped Katie Wilson Become Seattle’s Next Mayor

"I really think that our public transit system is such a big part of people's daily experience of government," says the incoming mayor of the Emerald City.

December 12, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Blue Highways Edition

The DOT showed off its first water-to-cargo-bike delivery route. Plus other news.

December 12, 2025

Court Docs Shed Light on Instacart’s Car-Dominant Delivery Business

Instcart's reliance on cars adds traffic, pollution and the potential for road violence to city streets.

December 11, 2025

More Truck Routes Are Coming To A Street Near You

The DOT wants to rein in freight trucks by adding more than 45 miles to the city’s existing network of truck routes.

December 11, 2025
See all posts